SHOULD BUYING ONLINE CASH/GOLD BE BANNED?

last_exile

Should buying online gold/cash be banned?

Xexima

Yes, it completely destroys the ingame economy and makes the game less challanging and less fun.

0over0

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Originally posted by last_exile

Should buying online gold/cash be banned?

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Banned by whom?

last_exile

OK let me refrase that should the game company mack buying the cash/gold illegal?

DeserttFoxx

Buying ingame items with real cash should be a bannable offense in all games.. to bad soem companies are about the dollar only, so they endorse it, like codemaster and sony.

ginfress01

Online buying game items and advertising is the way of the future for mmorpg's.

brutotal

I think it would be impossible to prevent items being sold completely but in some cases real world currency ruins the market.

ps_man

Yes it makes all the geniuine players hard work go to waste because people can just buy  cash and buy an in game item ! even tho they are prob shait at the game defo yes shwd be banned! i wouldnt play a game which has  an option which u can buy money!

Aelfinn

It already is banned by most games, and since in those same examples, it is a breach of a private contract, it is also a breach of civil law. Its pretty much impossible for them to prosecute though, so they are helpless.

The real question is, should gaming companies finally get the ability to legally prosecute cases of gold selling?

My answer, hell yes

ianubisi

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Originally posted by Xexima
Yes, it completely destroys the ingame economy...

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I have still, after years of hearing this argument, never heard a single credible line of defense to support this argument.

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Originally posted by Xexima
...and makes the game less challanging and less fun.

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Clearly the people that buy and sell virtual items disagree with that statement.

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To answer the OP's question, it simply doesn't matter if you ban it or not. It will continue for as long as game's are released with mechanics that favor an exchange of money for time. Learn to live with it...it's here to stay.

ps_man

Well most games ban it for a reason you have crap players running aroudn thinking they own the place coz they bought in game money not made it like every one else ! that credable enough for you?

IdesofMarch

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Originally posted by ianubisi

To answer the OP's question, it simply doesn't matter if you ban it or not. It will continue for as long as game's are released with mechanics that favor an exchange of money for time. Learn to live with it...it's here to stay.

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Agreed that it doesn't matter if you banned it. There will always be those who sell gold, items, and accounts for real cash and there will always be those willing to buy them. So I don't expect companies to wipe out this subject anytime soon, but I do applaud those who are taking measures to prevent it to at least some extent.

As for me personally, it doesn't really effect me. You may have your uber character that's at max level and has the best gear, but in the end you missed out on usually the best parts of the game, and that's the journey to that point. But I do see it as a problem in PvP-oriented games where having that edge in gear is a matter of winning or losing.

DeletedAcct

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Originally posted by Aelfinn
It already is banned by most games, and since in those same examples, it is a breach of a private contract, it is also a breach of civil law. Its pretty much impossible for them to prosecute though, so they are helpless.
The real question is, should gaming companies finally get the ability to legally prosecute cases of gold selling?
My answer, hell yes

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My sentiments exactly.

ianubisi

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Originally posted by Zorvan
Originally posted by Aelfinn
It already is banned by most games, and since in those same examples, it is a breach of a private contract, it is also a breach of civil law. Its pretty much impossible for them to prosecute though, so they are helpless.
The real question is, should gaming companies finally get the ability to legally prosecute cases of gold selling?
My answer, hell yesMy sentiments exactly.

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Talk to your legislature. As far as I know, it's not illegal.

Tyoka

If we ban gold/item selling, what will the Chinese have to do? Ha. But no, I think it should be banned. I can't touch FFXI anymore simply because of what happened to it. That game's economy was almost completely player-driven, unlike other MMOs. Due to gil sellers screwing with the economy, an item that once cost 10k gil is now 100k gil. That's pretty bad if you ask me. 

Torak

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Originally posted by Tyoka

If we ban gold/item selling, what will the Chinese have to do? Ha. But no, I think it should be banned. I can't touch FFXI anymore simply because of what happened to it. That game's economy was almost completely player-driven, unlike other MMOs. Due to gil sellers screwing with the economy, an item that once cost 10k gil is now 100k gil. That's pretty bad if you ask me. 

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Same thing happened in L2. Its a 100% player driven economy so the farmer naturally took it over. It sucks, WoW is suffering also. Its all in the players hands. Players demand the service of the farmer.

The real question is, should gaming companies finally get the ability to legally prosecute cases of gold selling?

Its against an EULA agreement but not against the law. The court systems are overloaded already with real problems.

Do you honestly think companies are going to go through the legal expaense of prosecuting "little jonny" because he got caught buying 20 dollars worth of third party currency? Or the incredible legal cost of making a law suit against currency farmers based in another country??? Don't think so. Its simply not practical.

Homieslice

I'm not really a guy for trading Real money for fake cash. But if you want to be a dumbass and do it go ahead.

ianubisi

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Originally posted by Tyoka
Due to gil sellers screwing with the economy, an item that once cost 10k gil is now 100k gil.

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What evidence do you have that the inflation was directly attributable to people trading hard currency for in-game items?

Inflation is a part of every MMOG system where money spawns on NPCs and enters into circulation without a way to dispose of it.

Aelfinn

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Originally posted by ianubisi


Originally posted by Zorvan
Originally posted by Aelfinn
It already is banned by most games, and since in those same examples, it is a breach of a private contract, it is also a breach of civil law. Its pretty much impossible for them to prosecute though, so they are helpless.
The real question is, should gaming companies finally get the ability to legally prosecute cases of gold selling?
My answer, hell yes

My sentiments exactly.

Talk to your legislature. As far as I know, it's not illegal.

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I get tired of explaining this sometimes. No, there is no law directly involving this.

However, the EULA every single player agrees to and signs is a contract between the customer and the company. Selling ingame items and gold is a violation of that contract, which is protected by various civil laws.

Jade6

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Originally posted by last_exile

Should buying online gold/cash be banned?

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Only if the game in question can't handle it. Most games actually can, despite all the emotional claims about "inflation".

ianubisi

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Originally posted by Aelfinn

I get tired of explaining this sometimes. No, there is no law directly involving this.
However, the EULA every single player agrees to and signs is a contract between the customer and the company. Selling ingame items and gold is a violation of that contract, which is protected by various civil laws.

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What's there to explain? The EULA specifically spells out what can happen to you if you break it. In the case of MMOGs, typically that means the suspension of your account. This is what MMOG companies currently do, and are allowed to do by law due to the EULA. That's where it ends.

darkedone02

yes, this is not fair business as well, and this is also a sign of greed as well. Project Entopia will be a banned game if there is a ban.

Manasseh

No matter what laws video game makers put in their EULA .. buying and selling currency outside the game will always go on. Some game developers are making it so the developers will at least make money on it...instead of third party companies. Divergence Online (in development) is offering the purchase of ingame currency to avoid the "gold farmers" making money on this.  This is not a game that is "centered" around people HAVING to buy in game currency though.... like PE.

http://www.the-shade.com/divergence/integramod140/viewtopic.php?t=92&sid=495b4c2ead0fa7e212d79e9597857ed4

Precusor

Best way to deal with the farmers and botters is to just perma bann the buyers.

Jade6

Some of the attitudes in this thread worry me though; for example, the idea of allowing companies to take legal action against those who play their game in a certain way. Gold farmers are not selling ingame items (one can't sell what does not exist), they are selling their time; time which the company does not and should not own. I shudder to think of the consequences of allowing companies to sue people over the use of their spare time. What's next, prison sentences for missing an episode of "Friends"? Firing squad for anyone who has played a competitor's game in the past?

Btw, ps_man... if your fun comes from showing off with your gear, no matter how hard you "worked" for it, I would be willing to argue that gold farmers are doing everyone else a favor by ruining that sort of "fun".

iHatePants

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Originally posted by Jade6

Some of the attitudes on this thread worry me though; for example, the idea of allowing companies to take legal action against those who play their game a certain way. Gold farmers are not selling ingame items (one can't sell what does not exist), they are selling their time; time which the company does not and should not own. I shudder to think of the consequences of allowing a commercial company to sue people over the use of their spare time. What's next, prison sentences for missing an episode of "Friends"? Firing squad for anyone who has played a competitor's game in the past?

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Gold sellers ruin my in-game experience, and people who buy from them are cheating which also ruins the game for me and makes other honest players have to suffer too.

Whether you watch friend's or not isn't going to ruin the experience I have watching friends.

In my spare time I like to throw dynamite in people's mailboxes. Ofcourse I can't go to court and say I was doing it on my spare time.

It all depends on whether it's impacting on the people around you, and gold sellers and people who buy from them are impacting the game and the people who play fairly.